


The Shape of the Past

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 04:23:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "So I’ve seen a lot of fics with non-binary Jack, but none with Pitch.So, just what the title says; MtF Pitch. I don’t really have anything specific in mind, but preferably something not *incredibly* angsty would be nice."Pitch makes a claim about her title that she hasn’t done before, which worries them more than the black sand. The fill is a different way in which Jack learns that the Guardians and Pitch were all different people before they were chosen. (FYI: Jack is the only one who didn’t know Pitch is a woman; he’s confused and points out anatomical traits to explain his confusion.)





	The Shape of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 4/7/2016.

“…because I am Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, and the world _will_ fear me!”  
  
This was the last thing Pitch had a chance to say before the Guardians attacked, and when all was said and done, the Tooth Palace was empty, with no sign of any nightmares, shadow creatures, or their leader, anywhere.  
  
“This is worse than we thought,” North said, pacing back and forth a few steps on the grass near the little pool that reflected one of Tooth’s now-fading murals. “I could not tell with the black sand, but seeing Pitch in person—she has never allowed herself to look like this.”  
  
“Wait,” Jack said. “She? What are you talking about? Pitch Black is the Boogey _man_ , he just said it, and okay, I’m no expert, but his voice, and face, and, um, chest don’t make any argument against that…”  
  
Tooth gave him an exasperated look and he fell into a puzzled silence.  
  
“And that is part of the problem!” North said. “The last time we faced Pitch, she was very clear about not being the Boogey _man_ , no matter what people called her. She spoke differently, and her clothes were not this…this strange costume that reveals her chest and hides her hips.”  
  
“And…so…” Jack prompted, still not quite following what was going on.  
  
“It means that Pitch has been pushed to a breaking point we’ve never seen before,” said Bunny. Sandy signed a few things, and Bunny nodded. “Yeah. It’s really difficult to push back against what your believers think of you, though it’s ironically easier to do once you _have_ a lot of believers. Still—there’s always some discomfort about it. It’s always easier to be what your believers think you are.”  
  
“And that’s true no matter who you were in life,” Tooth said. “We don’t know much about who Pitch was—she’s older than all of us except Sandy, and he doesn’t know about her origins. It’s possible in life that she faced struggles similar to the ones she does now, though now—well, the problem may be intractable. There are too many cultures where the Boogeyman, even without any other description, is referred to as a he. That will limit her ability to shapeshift, maybe in a dangerous way.”  
  
“Added to this, as I said, Pitch has never wanted or claimed to be the Boogeyman. That she is willing to do this now? This is a sign that what we thought were her limits and boundaries may no longer apply. And…yes,” North said slowly, watching Sandy’s signs, “in a way, this is worse than the black sand, because something like the black sand is something that Pitch would have done before we knew of her new desperation for belief.”  
  
“So, what does this mean?” Jack asked. “No matter what’s going on with Pitch…” He looks around at the Tooth Palace. In the quiet, he swears he can hear the palace crumbling. “She’s destroying something that shouldn’t be destroyed.”  
  
“It means we have to be more careful,” Bunny said.  
  
A few feathers fall from Tooth’s tail.  
  
“It means we have to think of Tooth first!” North exclaimed. “What can we do, what can we do…”  
  
As North thought out loud, Jack found that he didn’t have many thoughts on Pitch, whoever she was and whoever she used to be. He just wanted to get a chance to ask Tooth about himself, and a past he’d never know. She’d need to be believed in for that, and so when the others looked to him to see if he’d help collect the teeth, there was nothing he could do but say yes. 


End file.
